Austin, TX and Beijing, China – September 24, 2024 – A new study analyzed the impact of spectrum availability on Wi-Fi^® to support gigabit connectivity in residential deployments in China. The study underscores that insufficient spectrum capacity undermines Wi-Fi performance, devalues broadband infrastructure investment, and jeopardizes connectivity objectives.

In China, as in other countries, most data traffic is transferred over fixed broadband to residential premises, and the vast majority is distributed to users by Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi devices are now the primary means by which residential users connect to the Internet. China is enhancing broadband by investing heavily in Fiber to the Home (FTTH) deployments, ranking in the top five countries in the world with an FTTH penetration rate of 92.9%^[1]. These policies are laying the foundation for high-performance connectivity – 25.7% of fixed broadband subscribers seeing an access rate of 1 Gbps or above^[2] – but must ultimately rely on Wi-Fi to extend telecommunications infrastructure and achieve ambitious connectivity goals. Wi-Fi’s ability to provide the functionality and performance necessary to fulfil this critical role depends on access to sufficient spectrum capacity (i.e. bandwidth). The increasing number of active devices and data traffic combined with expanded performance and lower latency requirements will overwhelm available Wi-Fi spectrum capacity, impairing advanced functionality of users’ Wi-Fi devices. Policy decisions that preclude 6 GHz Wi-Fi operations degrade performance, deprive consumers of substantial connectivity benefits, and undermine fiber infrastructure investment.

According to the Plum Consulting’s analysis, with the limited spectrum currently available in China, Wi-Fi can support 500 Mbps connections in only about 30% of a typical apartment block. The study confirms that to achieve full building coverage at 500 Mbps, Wi-Fi needs access to spectrum in the 6 GHz frequency band.

“The study clearly evidences that the end-to-end connectivity landscape and the ensuing benefits are highly dependent on Wi‑Fi performance which, in turn, depends on spectrum access,” said Alex Roytblat, Vice President of Worldwide Regulatory Affairs at Wi-Fi Alliance. “Without Wi-Fi access to the 6 GHz spectrum, China’s consumers and enterprises cannot realize the full potential of the latest and future generations of Wi-Fi technology.”

Download the Wi-Fi Spectrum Requirements China study or learn more from our 6 GHz Wi-Fi Information Center.